Res & Explicatio for A.D. 3-11-2009

1. There are massive leaks all over the Catholic blogosphere concerning a Papal Letter in regards to the SSPX. Pope Benedict XVI will release a statement expressing his disenchantment of the reaction among Catholics over the lifting of the excommunications of SSPX. His Holiness also explains that he will connect the Ecclesia Dei commission to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He also states clearly that the Church is not frozen in 1962, so the SSPX will need to embrace Vatican II. In addition Vatican II also “brings with it the the whole doctrinal history of the Church”, ie, the Church didn’t end at Vatican II either.

2. The Pope’s trip to Israel will entail a visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque otherwise known as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. That’ll be interesting.

3. Speaking of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, I’ve been thinking about the Orthodox Christian Hagia Sophia Basilica (Church) in Istanbul (Constantinople). It was seized from the Orthodox in A.D. 1453 by the Muslim Turks (Ottomans) and turned into the Ayasofya Mosque until A.D. 1935. If the Turks desperately want in the European Union and one of the key stumbling blocks is their severe religious discrimination of Christians, wouldn’t it be prudent as an act of sincerity on the behalf of the Turkish government to return the Hagia Sophia back to the Orthodox? I think so.

4.Speculation on the next primate of Westminster should come to an end before the week is over reports The Independent. Past speculation had Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop Peter Smith, or Bishop Malcolm McMahon as the possible successor to Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor. The new rumor now is Fr. Allan White, a Dominican monk serving in Rome. He is very orthodox and would only be the second monk to be appointed since Basil Cardinal Hume.

5. The ‘Catholic’ group Voice of the Faithful was behind Connecticut’s bill SB 1098, which would remove the bishops authority over their parish’s to laymen, it seems. Credit to fellow AC writer Donald R. McClarey for digging this up last night. Thank goodness that the bill has been tabled due to a huge outcry from Catholic and non-Catholic politicians and clergy. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has additional information.